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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
With firm, fragrant, and sweet meat, snakehead fish (chả nhụ) is one of the delicious fish that many people love. Today, let’s join into the kitchen with Tastetutorial.com and test your skills by making a soup with snakehead fish called snakehead fish (chả nhụ) cooked in a delicious way to treat the whole family!
Ingredients for Snakehead Fish Soup (chả nhụ) Serves 4
Snakehead fish 2 fish (chả nhụ) Tomato 2 fruits White cabbage 2 bulbs Green onion 5 stalks Cilantro 3 stalks Chili 1 fruit Common spices a little (salt/sugar/MSG)
What is snakehead fish (chả nhụ)?
- Snakehead fish is also known by other names such as chả nhụ, black gọc fish, which has a silver-gray color, living in shallow waters, rivers, and lakes.
- Depending on the salinity of the living environment, the size of the fish can vary, ranging from 80 to 200 cm in length.
- Snakehead fish is special in that its pectoral fins are divided into two separate parts. The body of the fish is elongated and slightly flattened.
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh snakehead fish (chẽt fish)
- For whole fish, you should choose those that are healthy and move actively.
- You should also pay attention to choose fish with intact dorsal fins and tails. The color of the fish should be clear, bright, with shiny skin that has a slight shimmer.
- When you touch the fish, it should feel dry, not wet, the body of the fish should be plump, elastic, and firm.
- If the fish has been filleted into slices, you should choose pieces with small muscle fibers and a pinkish-red color. The fish meat should not ooze any liquid and should not have any slime on the surface.
See details: How to choose fresh fish properly
How to choose fresh tomatoes
- Based on color: You should choose tomatoes with bright red, evenly colored skins. The outer skin should be intact, without scratches, and plump, indicating fresh tomatoes.
- Based on fragrance: Naturally ripened tomatoes often have a mild fragrance that is easily noticeable when sniffed. While tomatoes that have been force-ripened do not have any fragrance at all.
- Based on the stem: You should choose tomatoes that still have their stems attached, with the stem still fresh and not wilted, tightly attached to the top of the tomato.
How to choose fresh and delicious white radish
- It is best to buy medium-sized, elongated white radishes towards the tail. Radishes with a thick tail often contain a lot of water and are bland in flavor.
- Fresh and delicious white radishes will still have their stems and roots intact, with the stems looking fresh and undamaged. This indicates that the radishes have just been harvested.
- Avoid white radishes with rotten stems while the skin still appears smooth and shiny, as they may have been injected with preservatives. They will not taste good when cooked and are not healthy.
How to make Sour Fish Soup with Snakehead Fish
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Prepare Snakehead Fish
To remove the slime and eliminate the fishy smell, after buying the snakehead fish, use a knife to scrape off the scales, cut off the gills, tail, fins, then gut the fish, remove the internal organs and the blood vessels running along the spine.
Use salt to rub the fish body, rinse the gills several times with water, then drain and use a knife to cut the fish in half and make a few slashes on the fish body.
Effective ways to eliminate the fishy smell of snakehead fish
- The simplest way is to soak the fish in rice water for 15 – 20 minutes to remove the fishy smell.
- Another method is to wash or rub salt over the fish body.
- Alternatively, soaking the fish in wine or white vinegar for 5 minutes is also very effective in eliminating the fishy smell.
- Additionally, you can use crushed ginger, soak it in water with the fish for 5 minutes.
- Don’t forget to use lemon juice mixed with warm water, then soak the fish for 5 – 7 minutes.
See details: 7 tips to easily and effectively eliminate the fishy smell
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Prepare other ingredients
Peel the white radish, wash it clean, then use a knife to cut it into bite-sized pieces, about 1/2 – 1 small finger thick.
Wash the tomatoes, cut them into wedges. Trim the roots off the green onions, wash them clean. Chop the white parts of the green onions, and cut the green parts into segments.
Trim the roots off the celery, wash it clean, then chop it into small pieces.
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Marinate the fish
In a mortar, add the chopped green onion tops, 1 chili pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, then use a pestle to grind it into a paste.
Place the fish into a bowl, then add 1/2 of the ground seasoning mixture to the fish, using your hands to rub it evenly inside and outside the fish. Marinate the fish for about 15 – 20 minutes to absorb the seasoning.
Tip:
- Marinating the fish with spices helps the fish meat to be flavorful, making the dish tastier.
- Marinating the fish with green onions and chili helps to eliminate the fishy smell.
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Cook the soup
Put a pot on the stove, add about 1.5 – 2 liters of water and bring it to a boil. Next, add the white radish and the remaining mixture of minced onion and chili.
Turn the heat to medium and cook until the water in the pot boils again and the radish is soft and releases all its sweetness.
Add the tomatoes to the pot and continue to cook until the water starts to simmer, then immediately add the marinated fish.
Next, season the pot with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Stir well and continue to cook until the fish is completely cooked.
Finally, taste and adjust the seasoning, then add the chopped cilantro and scallions to finish.
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Final Product
A bowl of hot and fragrant chét fish soup, with very eye-catching colors, a bit of red from tomatoes, and a bit of green from celery.
When eating, you will feel the sweet and sour taste, rich flavor of the broth. The chét fish is fragrant and sweet, tender, while the tomatoes and radish still retain their softness and sweetness, blending with the characteristic aroma of celery.
This dish is best served hot with rice, and dipping it with a bit of chili fish sauce will be absolutely wonderful!
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The dish canh cá chét nấu ngót that Tastetutorial.com just shared above will surely win over your family. It is indeed a unique dish that can change the flavor for family meals, isn’t it? So what are you waiting for, dear housewives? Let’s get into the kitchen and make it. Wishing you success in your cooking!
